This week being the 4th of July, I ventured to Monticello, Thomas Jefferson’s home in Virginia.
As a creator of the Declaration of Independence and the third president of the United States, it is something all Americans should see. I have seen much of America before visiting Monticello, but somehow I missed a visit to Jefferson’s home.
One of the things the docents point out is how many of the details of Monticello, from the “interior” bathroom (which really was similar to a bucket, not a toilet) to the skylights in the house, were taken from Thomas Jefferson’s time in France. The association that operates Monticello has made sure that it was restored to the days of Thomas Jefferson, including restoring what most of us thought were the white pillars in front and back of the house to their original sandstone.
It is more than the home of the architect of the Declaration of Independence and the country’s third president. Now, for the 55th year, there is a ceremony for naturalized citizens held on the grounds of Monticello on July 4. This year’s speaker is David N. Saperstein, the former U.S. ambassador at large for international religious freedom. He is also a rabbi.
Jefferson’s wife died in childbirth before he became president. He had promised her on her deathbed that he would never remarry. However, much has been made about his relationship with a slave woman, Sally Hemings. Genetic testing was completed on one line of the Hemings children, and it has been consistent with the genetics of the Jefferson family. Jefferson did free the Hemings children, but not Sally Hemings. However, as it was explained to me, at that time, a freed slave had a year and a day to leave the state. Sally Hemings was allowed to live her life in the state, but not freed. The Hemings decedents would like to be buried in the same plot as the Jefferson and some of his decedents, but that is still not allowed by Jefferson’s decedents.
George Washington’s Mt. Vernon and Jefferson’s Monticello provide information on what slavery was like for the people who tended to the Jefferson and Washington families. There is a beautiful garden on the Monticello grounds, and it was locked so that slaves who worked in the garden could not steal the crops at night even though they were housed right next to the garden.
Although most of us do not give the credit to Jefferson, he was the one who got the idea for the Lewis and Clark expedition and made sure the mapping and other skills that were needed for the expedition were taught to them, often by Jefferson himself. We think of Jefferson as the author of Declaration of Independence but not as the real promoter of the Lewis and Clark expedition.
Jefferson was certainly not perfect. When the congressional library was burned by the British, Jefferson did not give his library to the United States but sold it to the country. He only later in life made up with John Adams after a long feud. He spent more money than he had, and it took his son years after Jefferson’s death to pay off the debt, although as president he had lowered the national debt.
He left the presidency, retired to Virginia and never left the state again. He was in touch with the top scientists of his day and was considered a forward thinker.
It is estimated that Thomas Jefferson wrote 19,000 letters. This is an amazing number of letters without modern-day email or even 20th-century modernity such as a typewriter.
In his retirement, he established the University of Virginia. It didn’t happen overnight. He had to convince people of his vision to ensure the university was not a religious institution. He also designed both the buildings and the curriculum.
Jefferson clearly was a less-than-perfect human being who had a relationship with teen and slave Sally Hemings and a propensity for staying in debt. However, as we move toward another July 4 celebration, we should all be proud that such a fine thinker was someone who helped create the country we now live in.
Nobody is perfect. By learning more about Jefferson and his life, we can see that imperfect humans can still be great Americans.
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